Survey With Financial Times Finds Global Executives Treading Cautiously Into 2012

Since 2003, Doremus and the Financial Times have partnered to check the pulse of senior executives around the world on their outlook for the business environment.

This year, there were 628 respondents to the annual Decision Dynamics survey, representing a mix of company sizes and industries from North America, Europe and Asia.

Levels of optimism plummeted again this year. Respondents were only slightly more optimistic about the global and local economics than they were in 2008, and maintained the same level of optimism regarding their industries and companies.

Six out of ten respondents to this year’s survey expect further decline in the global economy over the next six months. And nearly half of them do not believe the economy will recover until or after 2013.

When asked: “In the next six months, what changes do you expect in…global economic conditions, your local economic conditions, your industry’s economic conditions, and your company’s results?” responses varied, as shown in the following chart.

Outlook: % Expecting Improvement 

Spending: Cautiously optimistic.

The survey shows that more companies are increasing rather than decreasing their spending in most categories, albeit by smaller margins than they were in 2010…yet much more than in 2009.

Hiring

Only a quarter of the companies in the survey plan to hire this year while the same proportion expect their organization’s employment level to decrease. This is somewhat worse than the 2010 findings and very similar to the results from 2009.

Impact of Key Global Events  

Low consumer confidence and U.S. and European debt issues will continue to impact more companies over the next six months or longer.

Companies that operate globally are most likely to feel the fallout from some of the year’s global issues, namely: the European debt crisis, U.S. debt/budget, Arab Spring, and Japan disasters. There are also geographic differences, with Asian respondents this year feeling the impact of European and U.S. economic issues.

Hope Picker, Doremus Director of Strategic Research, said, “As we see companies increase their spending, even at miniscule increments, we expect there will be a steady snail’s pace back to recovery. Barring any further disasters, natural or otherwise, this show of modest spending is a sign of life – and gratefully not life support.”

Daniel Rothman, Director of Research in the Americas for the Financial Times, said, “Global business leaders have felt the repercussions of the European and U.S. debt crises, as well as global unemployment, battered consumer confidence, and a year filled with natural disasters. As we enter 2012, the only sure fact for many companies is that visibility remains poor.”

For more information about the current Decision Dynamics global survey, contact Hope Picker.

Global Executives Are Banking on Mobile

In our annual “Decision Dynamics” online survey with the Financial Times of over 500 senior level executives from around the globe, we found that the use of mobile devices has dramatically increased during the past year, particularly when used for online banking and shopping.   

Younger Executives Take the Lead - Nearly 80% of those under age 45 visit websites (including search engines, online retailers and banking sites), and watch videos on their mobile devices. Those over 55 are more likely to use mobile phones exclusively for making calls or emails.

Blackberry use increases with company size (suggesting many executives are using company-issued devices). But, once again, age plays a factor. Those over 55 are less likely to use a Blackberry or iPod/MP3 player. (However, this group has the highest use of digital cable.)

The Electronics They Own – Senior executives age 45 and under are more likely to have a video gaming system at home. (This could be due to having younger children in the household.)

Men in the survey were more likely than women to own CD-burners, handheld video games, smart-phones, DVD recorders, home video game systems, and HDTVs.   

Technology Use: % Using Regularly

 Which of the following do you use regularly at work? At home?

Hope Picker, our Director of Research, observed that, “Smart-phones are a promising avenue for marketers wanting to reach this hard-to-reach group. Though most apps are downloaded for leisure use, there is an opportunity here for marketers. The right business content or the right app could resonate with this global audience.”  

Daniel Rothman, Director of Research in the Americas for the Financial Times, said, “This year’s Decision Dynamics survey reflects how senior executives around the globe are increasingly using an array of devices to connect and access media. Now more than ever, marketers can use these multiple touch-points to reach this executive, jet-setting audience. At the FT, mobile devices are driving 15 percent of new digital subscriptions to FT.com, and we’ve found that mobile readers are particularly engaged.”

For more information about the current Decision Dynamics global survey, contact Hope Picker.

Global Executives Tell Us: “In (Not All) Media We Trust.”

Since 2003, Doremus and the Financial Times have partnered to learn what senior-level executives around the world, from a mix of industries and company sizes, think about their local economies as well as the global economy; to ascertain their media consumption preferences; and to study their use of technology in their personal and professional lives. The current Decision Dynamics survey was conducted in late 2010 with over 500 respondents. Here are the top-line findings from the survey regarding media.

According to the survey, senior-level business executives prefer to consume their news and information from a mix of print and online channels, as long as their sources have proven journalistic credentials. 

Media Attitudes

"When you are looking for news and information online, which do you prefer?"

• How They Get Their Info - Executives from small businesses prefer print when they read newspapers and trade pubs, whereas Asians prefer online, as do those under the age of 45.  

• Both older and younger executives spend an equal amount of time using digital media for work.   

• More than half of the entire group read blogs, watch online videos, and watch websites for leisure and for work. 

• More than half use social networking sites for leisure, but far fewer use social media for professional reasons. Community sites are among the most popular form of digital media used for work. 

• Very few respondents visit virtual worlds, use social bookmarking, or have a personal blog.

Digital Media: % Do Frequently or Sometimes

How often do you do the following for work-related purposes? How often do you do the following for leisure purposes?

Hope Picker, our Director of Research, said, “In years past, especially from surveys conducted in 2008 and 2009, we saw a significant increase in many forms of digital media, but this year it plateaued… a sign that marketers can reliably reach out to this audience through many and varied touch-points. Still, when online, media outlets with journalistic standards have an advantage.”  

Daniel Rothman, Director of Research in the Americas for the Financial Times, said, “A major theme of this year’s Decision Dynamics survey has been ‘who do you trust?’ Media outlets created by professional journalists are preferred over user generated content sites three to one, and so we expect that they will remain relevant and vital to decision-makers in the global business community for years to come.” 

For more information about the current Decision Dynamics global survey, contact Hope Picker.